I found this picture of my dad (Grandpa Milo) and I while looking for a sibling picture of Kelly and Christian for Kelly to post on Instagram for National Siblings day. I like it a lot. The picture was taken on Grandma Sarah’s 77th birthday on one the last of our several trips as a family to Puerto Vallarta in January of 2008. It is hard to believe that is over 12 years in the past. It is good to remember how fortunate it was to have had a father and mother who truly loved us and did all that was in their power to help us their entire life.
In thinking about the current China virus crisis, it made me consider some of the things Grandpa Milo and Grandma Sarah had to endure in their lifetimes. Just a few of them are the great depression, World War II, polio, the 9/11 bombing, the Cold War, and personal crises that like Grandma Sarah’s almost fatal car wreck and the crib death of their daughter and my little sister, Amy Louise. I am just so grateful for the both of them and cannot wait to see them again in the not too distant future.
I thought this was a nice picture of my brother-in-law, Lauro, the artist. We have several of his pieces in our house and hope to get more. Right now, he is doing something about which I am very envious. He found an old house in a very beautiful setting in the Mexican countryside that is also close to a town with all the services (Internet, grocery shopping, great restaurants, etc.). The house is old (over 100 years) and was in very bad shape when he bought it. He is methodically turning it in to an atelier. He has been taking pictures of the entire process. It will have living space, entertaining space, a modern kitchen, a beautiful fireplace, and other features. When he finishes the building he will attack the grounds. It is really going to be something when he finishes and he designed it all himself.
We mostly celebrate Mother’s Day a couple of times every year (last Friday this year). Mother’s Day is always on 10th in Mexico, but always falls on a Sunday in the United States–today this year. Lorena and I celebrated in the middle. We went out for breakfast on Saturday morning, then cooked up some steaks last night. Lorena heard from both the kids yesterday, but they always make the “official” Mother’s Day call after meeting on Sunday. Lorena is a wonderful mother (and wife). We are grateful for her.
Lorena and I ran down to the McMenamin’s beside the Columbia River in Kalama on Saturday evening. It is a beautiful facility and we enjoyed ourselves very much. We used to go to the McMenamin’s in Wilsonville once a week when we lived there and liked it a lot. The one here in Centralia is really not so good–too noisy and somehow seems to have a culture difference from the ones in Kalama and Wilsonville. It is an hour drive down to Kalama, so we do not expect we will be doing it so often. We had around 30 20-30 somethings at the house over the weekend for a birthday and going-away party for Kelly. It was wonderful.
We moved Kelly’s things down to Centralia from Seattle yesterday. The coarse culture and poor planning that are the hallmarks of that city elevated the hassle of the move by a good margin. Nevertheless, we had great help to get the big stuff out of the second floor apartment and into the U-Haul. We got it all unloaded from the truck in about an hour after we got here. It is amazing how much easier it is to move stuff when you do not have to go up or down a narrow set of stairs. Lorena and Kelly made pasta with shrimp and we all went to bed early. Fortunately, when everything settles out, her new company will pay for the move to whatever new digs she finds. That is four or five months from now, so we get to have her here in the state for a little while longer.